24 April 2008

Two anniversaries for Mercy Ships

Mercy Ships, the international Christian charity operating hospital ships in the poorest countries of the world is celebrating two anniversaries.
The Australian support office is celebrating the 5th anniversary of the opening of its headquarters in Bulcock Street, the business centre of Caloundra.  And, internationally, it’s the 30th anniversary of the charity’s founding.
The world’s largest charity hospital ship, the new Africa Mercy¸ is currently on a 10-month outreach in the West African nation of Liberia, and will provide more than 5,000 free surgeries.   Volunteers serving in a wide variety of skills will also carry out a range of other health and community development programs.   This year’s visit to Liberia, following on the success of last year’s outreach in the country, will include training for local medical and construction staff.
Australian Chief Executive Officer Gary Regazzoli says, “While the 5th birthday is significant locally, the 30th anniversary is a milestone for Mercy Ships, which believes the best way to celebrate is to do what it does best and serve and poorest of the poor in Africa.”
“Over the last 30 years, Mercy Ships volunteers have worked in more than 70 countries, performed more than 1.5 million services, and had an impact on the lives of more than 5.5 million people.  The charity has treated more than 300,000 people in village medical clinics, performed 18,000 surgeries to correct disability, disfigurement and blindness.  110,000 dental treatments have been carried out.  Volunteers working with local people have completed close to 350 construction and agricultural projects, including schools, clinics, orphanages and water wells.  In the 30 years, Mercy Ships has changed millions of lives for the better.”
            30 years ago, Don Stephens, founder and now Chief Executive Officer of the international organization, paid $1 million dollars for the retired cruise liner Victoria, re-named Anastasis – Greek for ‘resurrection’.  A few days later, initial crew members went on board the first of the hospital ships that would help fulfill Stephens’ vision to follow the example of Jesus in giving hope and healing to the world’s poor.
            The organization has far surpassed the founder’s expectations.   He’s humbled, he says, by its impact.   “What I could see in the distance, seeing in reality is so fulfilling, so rewarding and far greater than I could imagine,” Stephens says.
            Stephens was a teenager when the idea of a hospital ship first struck him.  He was 19 when he took a trip with his youth group to the Bahamas.   It was 1964.   That summer, Hurricane Cleo swept through in what Stephens says was a one-in-a-hundred-year storm that caused massive devastation.  Homes were destroyed.  People were killed.  Stephens’ youth group hid in safe places; he was with a small group in a WWII British aircraft hangar.   The youth group scattered about and prayed together.  After the storm ended, Stephens heard that a teenage girl in another group prayed, saying it would be a wonderful thing if a ship could come in after the devastation, providing care and supplies, showing the love of God during the crisis.   “The hearing of it challenged me,” Stephens says.
            Stephens says he is still amazed and a little in awe at what God has allowed him to facilitate.   “When I see Mercy Ships doing what it does in the developing world, I sense His pleasure.  
The emphasis today is on the needs of the world’s poorest nations in West Africa, where the hospital ship Africa Mercy provides the platform for services extending up to ten months at a time.  A permanent land-based program operates in Sierra Leone, while teams also work in several nations of Central America and the Caribbean.  Mercy Ships has 14 support offices around the world, including the Australian office at Caloundra, on the Queensland Sunshine Coast.

2 March 2008

Hope for fistula sufferers

As International Women’s Day is recognised around the world on 8 March, Mercy Ships is highlighting one of the Christian charity’s responses to a major problem faced by women in Africa – that of obstetric fistula – sometimes described as the ‘African Epidemic’.
            Obstetric fistula is a preventable, treatable condition that primarily affects women who are very young and very poor. Fistula is one of the most devastating of all pregnancy-related disabilities. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that between 50,000 and 100,000 women sustain an obstetric fistula during childbirth each year.  Usually the result of an obstructed labor coupled with a lack of skilled medical care, obstetric fistula most often leads to permanent incontinence.  As a result, such women are often abandoned by their husbands and left to fend for themselves. Women who remain untreated may not only face a life of shame and isolation, but may also face a slow, premature death from infection and kidney failure.
            The World Health Organization estimates that more than two million women are currently living with obstetric fistulas, with many of those in Africa.   One possible indicator of the prevalence of obstetric fistulas in West Africa is the maternal mortality rate. Obstetric fistulas are most prevalent in areas where maternal mortality is high. The WHO adjusted maternal mortality ratio for Liberia is 760/100,000 live births. Women in Liberia have a one-in-sixteen lifetime chance of dying of childbirth-related causes.
While a Mercy Ships surgical team can transform the life of a woman with obstetric fistula, better training for obstetric surgeons and nurses is needed in order to build Liberia’s health system capacity.
During this year’s field assignment by volunteers to Liberia, Mercy Ships will again be addressing the fistula problem in that nation.  The year-long program aims to reduce the prevalence of obstetric fistula among women by providing specialized surgical treatment, training, and awareness.    125 women affected by obstetric fistula will receive corrective surgery.  Three surgeons and three obstetric nurses will be trained in procedures and care to serve the need in Liberia; women affected by obstetric fistula will receive counseling; and community awareness will be raised about the issues causing obstructed labor and its effects through women’s meetings and other community forums.
During their stay in the ward onboard the hospital ship Africa Mercy, patients will have opportunities to learn about community and maternal health.  An adopt-a-patient program also provides an opportunity for patients to build a deeper relationship with a crew member, thus providing moral and spiritual support.
When the patient is discharged from the hospital ship, she will receive a new set of clothing in the fabric of her choice, signifying a new beginning. This is patterned after the practice of the Addis Ababa fistula hospital, where a discharge is a time of great rejoicing. Discharge teaching includes instructions about abstinence from sexual intercourse for three months and the need to have caesarean delivery for subsequent pregnancies in order to reduce the risk of recurrence.
As with all Mercy Ships programs, volunteers seek to follow the example of Jesus in bringing hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor.  Mercy Ships offers a range of health and community development services free of charge.  Highly skilled surgeons on board the ships perform thousands of operations each year to correct disability, disfigurement and blindness.   Medical and dental teams travel the countries and establish clinics to provide vaccination programs, dental treatment and basic health care for those with no access to these facilities.  Local community health workers receive training in hygiene, nutrition and disease prevention.
Mercy Ships builds hospitals, clinics, training facilities and basic housing where none exist.   Agricultural projects help replenish livestock in war-torn areas and boost food production.   Working in partnership with local people, Mercy Ships empowers communities to help themselves.    The result is a way out of poverty.  www.mercyships.org.au

25 February 2008

An expectation of hope

It was still dark when 14 vehicles filled with doctors, nurses, servers, escorts and other volunteers left the Africa Mercy on the way to a sports complex in Monrovia for the 2008 Liberian screening of possible patients for surgery during the current assignment by Mercy Ships to the war-ravaged West African nation.
As the vehicles pulled up at 7 am, hundreds of people were already waiting for their opportunity to experience hope and healing.  People were patient as they waited under supervision of the United Nations and the Mercy Ships Security Team, knowing they would be seen by a Mercy Ships doctor or nurse.   There was a sense of expectation and hope in people’s eyes.
As patients were accepted through the stadium gates, truckload after truckload of new people arrived.  The line seemingly never ended.  By 8 am the number of people outside the gates had swollen to more than 1500.  Many of the people had overcome obstacles just to make it to the screening site.
74-year-old Alfred Ztelue heard about Mercy Ships on the radio and used a hand-pedalled bike to get to the stadium.  His left leg had been amputated after a rocket exploded under him in 1991.  Joe Davis, 28, had a rocket hit his house 15 years ago during the civil war.  The house collapsed, killing everyone but him.  Joe’s arm was broken and never properly healed.  He came to seek help from Mercy Ships.  The joy on his face was evident as he talked to volunteers and thanked them for what they are doing for Liberia. 
But his story is just one of many outlining the horror and atrocity of war.  Richie Tokbah, with a shriveled hand, took one week to get to the screening from a distant county.  Some came from as far away as neighbouring Sierra Leone.
White the people waited patiently, volunteers entertained the patients with lively music, and there was a party atmosphere at the stadium as the crowds sang beautiful songs together.   Children coloured pictures and played skipping games in the shade.  Crew members also kept the children entertained by making balloon animals.  Servers handed out water to the thirsty and local entrepreneurs sold bananas and doughnuts to the crowd while patients were being screened by the highly trained Mercy Ships medical team.
The screening focussed on three primary areas: maxillo-facial (including tumour removal and repair of cleft lip and palate), plastic surgery (such as burns) and orthopaedic (including club feet and mobility ailments.   Sadly, many people who could not be helped had to be turned away.  About 500 were referred to eye clinics being held in various locations during the coming weeks.  
            In  the coming months highly skilled volunteers will not only be performing specialised surgeries, but will also help by providing access to clean drinking water, sanitation, education, construction and development and the many other services so desperately needed in Liberia.
            It is a country where an estimated 80% of the population is illiterate and living below the poverty line; there is 70% unemployment, 35% of the population is malnourished, 28% only immunized; 25% per cent of the population has access to safe drinking water, with 36% per cent having access to sanitation facilities.  Almost an entire generation has missed out on primary education and an estimated 48,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS.

3 February 2008

Mercy Ships revisiting Liberia

            Volunteers serving with Mercy Ships are heading back to the West African nation of Liberia on assignment for the rest of the year.
            It is the fourth such visit in as many years to the war-ravaged nation.
            The long civil war and government mismanagement destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the capital’s infrastructure. But recovery is taking place slowly under President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF, a Harvard-trained economist.  In her annual address to the National Legislature recently, she said, “The economy is expanding with growth accelerating to over 9 percent last year. Roads and buildings are being rebuilt; hospitals, clinics and schools are reopening and agriculture production is on the rebound. There is still a long way to go but there can be no doubt that Liberia has launched its recovery and is poised for rapid, inclusive and sustainable development in the years to come.”
            In comments on improvements in the health of Liberians, the President paid tribute to the work being done by Mercy Ships, saying the Christian charity provides an invaluable service to the people.
            Liberia is a nation with many needs, and Mercy Ships provides a range of medical and community development services, following the example of Jesus in bringing hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor.   Almost half of the Liberian population is aged under15; life expectancy is 40; the infant death rate remains high with 15 per cent of babies dying before their first birthday; the incidence of AIDS is high; 85 per cent of the population is unemployed, and more than 80 per cent of the people live below the poverty line.
Preventable diseases like malaria and measles are among the leading killers of children; malnutrition and respiratory infections kill thousands of children each year; nearly 40 per cent of children under age five suffer from sickness related to malnutrition; 40 per cent of the population does not have access to safe water, and 75 per cent does not have access to adequate sanitation. Armed conflict, HIV/AIDS and other diseases have orphaned an estimated 230,000 children. Half a million children do not attend school.
Volunteers from more than 40 nations paid their own way to serve last year in Liberia.  Statistics from the assignment are impressive, and more will be accomplished as the new hospital ship Africa Mercy with a crew of 450 remains in the capital Monrovia until the end of this year.   Some of the figures for 2007 are: 1,200 eye surgeries; 640 reconstructive surgeries; 120 obstetric fistula surgeries; 11,000 dental procedures; 35 people trained in community health care and 108 trained for HIV/AIDS outreach; 80 trained for mental health work; 90 women trained in rabbit breeding and beekeeping; 10 water wells dug and 40 village latrines built; school rooms and a medical clinic completed with work started on a centre for the disabled; 950 pastors attended training programs.
One of the long-serving Australians onboard the Africa Mercy, Fiona Fraser of Newcastle NSW, is looking forward to being back in Liberia, after a period of re-stocking, maintenance and dry-dock work in Tenerife.  Fiona is Assistant Operating Theatre Supervisor, with responsibilities for the smooth running of the ship’s six operating theatres.  “It will be back to a time of stretching personally and professionally.”  
“I was just thinking recently that some of the patients we had on the ship last year for treatment were rebel soldiers during the country’s long civil war, while some we operated on had been victims of many traumatic events or had participated in such events.   There would have been some who were forced as children to become soldiers.   There is a real need for us to pray for forgiveness here and for continuing restoration throughout Liberia,” she says.
Mercy Ships is an international Christian charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978.  The emphasis is on the needs of the world’s poorest nations in West Africa, where the hospital ship Africa Mercy provides the platform for services extending up to ten months at a time.  Permanent land-based programs operate in Sierra Leone, while teams also work in several nations of Central America and the Caribbean.  Mercy Ships has 14 support offices around the world, including the Australian office at Caloundra, on the Queensland Sunshine Coast.

28 Jan 2008

Mercy Ships on show at maritime expo

            As Sydney hosts a major international maritime, naval and defence exposition, there will be very few of the displays offering nothing for sale, and with no connection to the defence forces.
            Mercy Ships, an international Christian charity with its Australian headquarters on the Queensland Sunshine Coast, is a registered shipping company and operates the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship.  The charity will be represented at Pacific 2008, the biennial Pacific International Maritime Expo at Sydney’s Darling Harbour Convention Centre from Jan 29 to Feb 1, as it was during the last Sydney Expo.
            Pacific 2008 is described as the showcase for commercial maritime and naval defence industries to promote their products and services.
            Volunteers from around the world serve with Mercy Ships, taking a message of hope and healing to people living in the world’s poorest nations.   Current efforts are directed at providing unavailable medical and community development services in Liberia and Sierra Leone, two of the West African nations devastated by long civil wars.  The giant hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, with a volunteer crew of 450 will to returning to Liberia in February for the fourth visit by Mercy Ships in as many years.   The ship will remain in Monrovia until the end of the year, before heading for neighbouring Sierra Leone in 2009.  
            A long-serving volunteer with the charity in Australian, Alan Budd, will also be presenting a paper at the International Maritime Conference, one of several major conferences being held in conjunction with the Sydney Expo.
One of the greatest problems affecting people living in developing nations is the lack of available and affordable health care.  Infrastructure is either substandard or simply non-existent.  In response to such need Mercy Ships offers a range of health care services free of charge.  Highly skilled surgeons on board the ships perform thousands of operations each year to correct disability, disfigurement and blindness.   Medical and dental teams travel the country and establish clinics to provide vaccination programs, dental treatment, HIV/AIDS education, and basic health care for those with no access to these facilities.  Local community health workers receive training in hygiene, nutrition and disease prevention.
Mercy Ships drills water wells and improves sanitation, builds hospitals, clinics, training facilities and basic housing where none exist.   Agricultural projects help replenish livestock in war-torn areas and boost food production.   Working in partnership with local people, Mercy Ships empowers communities to help themselves.    In all of its programs Mercy Ships provides vocational training as well as meeting immediate needs.  The result is a way out of poverty. Mercy Ships seeks to address the needs of the whole person.  While some attend to the physical and practical needs, others address psychological, emotional and spiritual issues. 
The unique feature of the charity is that almost all who serve are volunteers, paying their own way and raise their own support to serve short-term for a few weeks to long-term in a career capacity. 
Since 1978, Mercy Ships has performed more than 1.7 million services valued at over $A800 million and impacting more than 1.9 million people as direct beneficiaries.
*Performed more than 32,500 surgeries such as cleft lip and palate, cataract removal, straightening of crossed eyes, orthopaedic and facial reconstruction.
*Treated more than 212,000 people in village medical clinics.
*Performed more than 183,000 dental treatments.
*Taught over 14,500 local health care and professional workers, who have in turn trained many others in primary health care.
*Taught 95,000 local people in primary health care.
*Delivered more than $70 million worth of medical equipment, hospital supplies and medicines.
*Completed more than 900 community development projects including construction of schools, clinics, orphanages, water wells and agriculture programs.
*Demonstrated the love of God to people in over 550 port visits in 70 different nations.
*More than 850 career crew from over 40 nations serve today.
*More than 1,600 short-term volunteers serve with Mercy Ships each year.

Pictured:  Mercy Ships display at Pacific 2004

22 January 2008

On to bigger things
- from one crew to another

“I have had no professional training in cooking, but that is what I am doing on the ship.”
As a volunteer crew member, serving as an assistant cook on the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship, Tim Benson of Brisbane says his only experience was at McDonalds, where he spent six years as a crew member and manager.
“I had been looking for some time at becoming involved in some sort of voluntary or missionary work, and have a friend who spent time serving as a nurse with Mercy Ships,” Tim says.  “When I looked further into what Mercy Ships is doing serving the world’s neediest people it just seemed right for me.”
“Now I am spending 12 months in the ship’s galley, helping prepare meals for more than 400 other volunteers onboard.   My friends and members of my family were very supportive of my decision to head to Africa, but some of the people I worked with were a bit confused as to why someone would give up a job and go to work for nothing.  All of the volunteers have to pay their own way to and from Africa and pay weekly crew fees to help offset the cost of running the ship. 
“It did not take long to realise that I am meant to be doing what I am now doing.  “I knew very little about Liberia where the hospital ship Africa Mercy spent most of last year, and to where it will return for the whole of this year.  The country has been torn by poverty and war.   There is so much unemployment, and so many needs. 
“I guess what I am doing is important, but every single person on this ship is important.  We all have a role to play in bringing some measure of hope and healing to the people of Liberia.  It is a wonderful experience living in community with so many volunteers who come from all over the world.   Everyone helps each other and that makes life easier.    The only bad thing about what I am doing is having to wake up early some mornings when I am rostered on the early shift.   Everything else is great.  God is teaching me many things, and I am growing closer to Him while serving with Mercy Ships.”
About the future, Tim says he is unsure of what he will be doing, but has not ruled out serving again with Mercy Ships, and possibly for a longer term.

29 November 2007

A long wait for Liberian trip “I spent a month with Wycliffe Bible translators in Papua New Guinea 37 years ago, and have always wanted to go back into some type of mission work,” says Brian Olley of Nerang on the Queensland Gold Coast. “It was my desire to use my professional skills in a mission environment, and that has happened now with my nine weeks serving as a volunteer with Mercy Ships in the West African nation of Liberia, one of the world’s poorest nations.” Brian has been a nurse for 27 years, and spent his time onboard the charity’s new hospital ship Africa Mercy as a member of the eye team. Volunteer members of that team saw nearly 15 thousand people in four locations around the country during the ten-month assignment to Liberia. Nearly 12-hundred of those seen were scheduled for surgical procedures to correct cataract blindness. The team also trained five community health workers to perform eye examinations while two local surgeons received additional ophthalmic training. His desire to serve God by helping others came as a response to acknowledging what God has done in his life. “God has been a big influence in my life. I had some serious medical conditions from which I have made a full recovery, and just wanted to wanted to acknowledge that and use my medical skills to help others understand how God loves and cares for them.” “My trip to Liberia has been an eye opener. To be able to feel something of the need of these people after all they have experienced. There is such poverty and a feeling of hopelessness, and there will continue to be a long struggle ahead for them. But there has been real joy working as a member of the eye team, seeing people receiving their sight after years of living in darkness from cataracts. You can’t imagine the level of appreciation they express to those who help them. “The down side has been in having to tell some that nothing can be done for them. Sight represents about 90 per cent of our sensory capacity, and is so essential to daily life. “Mercy Ships has developed a very practical way of ensuring that eye surgery patients return to the ship for post operative care in the form of a Sight Celebration. Once a fortnight, the eye patients are invited back to join the celebration. It’s a joyous time for all. You can see the joy as they sing and dance, and tell of what God has done for them in giving back their sight. It’s often more special than that because we were seeing people whose lives have been transformed from living in darkness, both physically and spiritually,” Brian concludes. Volunteers from around the world have been involved in the third visit by Mercy Ships to Liberia in as many years. The Africa Mercy will return there in February for another ten months, offering free specialised surgeries, developmental assistance and educational programs aimed at benefiting thousands of people and many communities. Mercy Ships is an international Christian charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978. Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide. The emphasis is on the needs of the world’s poorest nations in West Africa, where the hospital ship Africa Mercy provides the platform for services extending up to ten months at a time. A permanent land-based program operates in Sierra Leone, while teams also work in several nations of Central America and the Caribbean. Mercy Ships has 14 support offices around the world, including the Australian office at Caloundra, on the Queensland Sunshine Coast.

4 November 2007

Our concerns sometimes seem petty

            “Seeing the struggle of people in the world’s poorest nations of Africa changes my perspective of many things,” says 28 year old medical scientist of Lawton, Kathryn Evans, who is serving her third term as a volunteer with Mercy Ships.
            “The people of Liberia, where the hospital ship Africa Mercy is currently on field service, struggle with poverty and have to deal with issues that most of us are never likely to know anything about.  They certainly don’t worry about having the latest fashion trend in clothes, acquiring the latest gadget, or where to go for dinner.   Many don’t even get dinner.  They are fortunate if they have somewhere clean and dry to sleep at night.  
“Many are refugees, remembering times when rebel forces swept through their home villages more than once, killing or maiming family members, even taking their children to become child soldiers during the long civil war.   Somehow, in the face of all that, our concerns seem a little petty,” she says.
Kathryn, a medical scientist, who worships with the Pine Rivers Uniting Church, did not expect to return to West Africa so soon.  She was among the volunteer crew of more than 450 earlier this year, and had been considering returning in a year or two, but received word the hospital ship urgently needed another laboratory technologist.  “That was much sooner than I had been anticipating.   I prayed and thought about it, and was certain the decision to return to Africa was a ‘God thing’.  Everything happened so quickly and smoothly.”
It was at a missions conference four or five years ago Kathryn heard about Mercy Ships, an international Christian charity, now in its 30th year of service, bringing hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor.  She says she felt many years ago while still at school the call of God to work in Africa.  “I wasn’t impressed.  I didn’t want to go to Africa where it is hot, isolated, and teaming with various diseases.   I conveniently forgot about it while I finished my education and gained some practical experience in the lab.   God is always right, however, and while I thought being in Africa would be a terrible experience, I really love it.”
Kathryn spends much her time in the ship’s lab testing specimens from patients for a range of things, but readily acknowledges that she is only just one member of a team with a huge variety of skills that go into the work of Mercy Ships bringing skilled medical care to correct disability, disfigurement and blindness, as well as undertaking a wide range of community development projects in partnership with local residents and organisations.  “My family and close friends know this is something I have to do, and they are mostly philosophical about it.  Others say I am doing a really good thing.  But I am sure they don’t realise I get more out of the experience than I give.
“The work done by volunteers serving with Mercy Ships means that people can resume normal living following life-changing surgery.   Little babies with cleft palates find it difficult to feed and end up malnourished.  Surgeons repair cleft lips and palates.  People with huge facial tumours can end up suffocating, but in most cases surgeons can remove the tumours.  Eye surgeons can remove cataracts, enable the blind to see again and enjoy new life.  Many who have been rejected because of disability or disfigurement are able to be re-integrated to community life.   While my work as a scientist in the lab is not at the cutting edge of all that is going on, it does make it easier for doctors and nurses provide better patient care, and sometimes it does make the difference between life and death.
“I don’t know about the future as a result of this my third period of service with Mercy Ships.   The human side of me tells me I would like to know, but I am trying to leave that up to God,” Kathryn concludes.

24 October 2007

Seeing the God of the supernatural at work

            “This weekend I had to give blood”, says Julie McGaw, of Merewether NSW, a volunteer who has just returned home from six months serving as a volunteer with Mercy Ships in the West African nation of Liberia.
            “What’s so unusual about that?   On this hospital ship with a crew of more than 400 people from around the world there is no blood bank.  When there is a need for blood, it comes from suitable crew members,” she says.
            But what became more exciting for Julie was meeting the patient for whom she gave blood.  “That was beautiful.  Martha Sumo, a woman of about 40, was onboard the hospital ship to undergo surgery to repair an obstetric fistula, a problem experienced by many thousands and perhaps millions of African women.  She underwent emergency surgery, and I was able to meet her later.   She just held my hand and thanked me for what I did for her.”
            “There’s also an ‘adopt a patient’ scheme where crew members help to care for patients during their time in the ward.  One of mine was a woman who had travelled from neighbouring Guinea for surgery.  Watta could not speak English, and I could not speak her language.  But we sewed together and knitted together, and I was able to pray with her each night before she went to sleep.”
            Julie spent six months with Mercy Ships as a volunteer.  She had heard about the work of the international Christian charity 18 months previously, and says her heart was stirred.  After working in a solicitor’s office for 13 years, she took what she describes as a ‘leap of faith’ and began temp work.  “That was preparation for what was to follow, and the freedom to think about heading out to Africa.   I finally began to understand what it’s like to listen to God’s still small voice, and to act upon His command.”
            She spent the six months as a member of the ship’s housekeeping crew.  “I haven’t got over the enormity of the work being done by Mercy Ships.  There are doctors, nurses, pathologists, engineers, plumbers, teachers, agriculturists, farmers … the list goes on and on.  They are all volunteers, coming from more than 30 nations, serving short-term and long-term, and all paying their own way to serve in whatever way they can.  I met some wonderful people during my time onboard.”
            “I have been privileged to see lives transformed.  Lives of those who come for surgery, lives of those out in the communities where development projects are carried out, and lives of those who spend time onboard as volunteers.  It has been a time when I have come to understand what God would have us do.  I have been privileged to see something of the work of the God of the supernatural,” Julie concludes.

14 October 2007

A Drawer Full of Eyes

Suah is beautiful, truly stunning. Her face is radiant. Her deep, dark brown eyes seem to emit their own warmth. As she tells her story it is impossible to imagine the pain she has lived through. “All my life people have rejected me,” Suah says. “I lost my eye when I was two. Every day people have poked fun at me.” Yet despite the mockery, Suah persisted through school. Nursing was her dream. Passing the entrance exam for nursing school was an incredible accomplishment. Then suddenly, at the interview, all hope was swept from her. “They denied me. They explained that because I only have one eye I wasn’t allowed to attend nursing school.” Shocked and miserable, Suah’s dreams were snatched away and there was nothing she could do about it. Her family could barely afford to feed themselves, let alone fund any medical bills. Then, out of the blue, a doctor from her church called with some amazing news. Mercy Ships was in Liberia providing free medical treatment, including ophthalmic surgery and the fitting of prosthetic eyes. That was over five months ago. Looking back now, Suah laughs. She clearly remembers the first time she saw the prosthetic eyes. They looked so real and yet they looked so strange. A drawer full of eyes! “Now people look at me and can’t even tell which eye is prosthetic,” Suah’s smile grows. “The ophthalmic nurse took so much care in choosing an exact match. It’s a miracle!” Radiating confidence, Suah explains the difference her new eye has made. “I shared my story at church. I stood in front of the whole congregation. All I could do was praise God for His perfect provisions.” While nursing may still be a possibility, Suah is putting her time and energy into working with a local non-governmental organisation in Liberia. “We work with former child soldiers, who have been through so much pain, and also teach on HIV. People need to understand that AIDS is real, so real.” Having personally experienced the pain of being ostracised, Suah’s heart is for helping other people. Now with two beautiful eyes she has the confidence to pursue her dreams and reach out to others in need. During the current Mercy Ships assignment to the West African nation of Liberia, one of the world’s poorest countries, volunteer eye teams plan to carry out more than 2,600 operations to restore, improve or maintain vision. In addition, 20 local medical providers will be trained in basic ophthalmic care. Alongside the fully equipped hospital ship Africa Mercy, docked in the capital Monrovia since late May this year, results of restored vision are celebrated literally every two weeks as former patients return dockside to “Celebrate Sight.” At the most recent event, more than 200 eye patients gathered to share their stories, sing, and dance to the beat of African drums. During speeches and festivities, the Mercy Ships Eye Care Team also took the opportunity to conduct post-operative eye exams in other parts of the tent. Distance, lack of transportation and cost of travel are obstacles that often prove too great for patients to return for post-op exams six weeks following a surgery where additional problems can often be intercepted. But a celebration gives many a reason to return.

“I pray that I will never be the same again,” says Sarah Creighton, a nurse from Illawong in NSW, returning from 12 months service as a volunteer nurse with the international charity Mercy Ships in West Africa.
            “You cannot see what I have been privileged to witness during the past year and not be touched.  You cannot sit with patients who haven’t even been touched for years and have them thank you for that touch without yourself being broken.  Or sit with a woman whom no one will go near, because she has been incontinent since childbirth, and see her respond to the healing touch of doctors and nurses.”
            Sarah’s calling by God to become a nurse in Africa came when she was 17.  Two years ago she heard the challenge to full time mission work and knew it was time to go.  “I was finding my heart moved with compassion for the suffering people of Africa, and I could no longer remain where I was.  I discovered Mercy Ships by accident while searching on the internet, and started receiving the charity’s newsletters.  I read them and was moved to tears, telling God I would go if He was sending me.”
Those around me reacted differently.  Some thought I was crazy going to Africa, having to pay my own way there and back and paying crew fees while onboard the hospital ship.  Others put me in the “martyr” category.  But mostly, reactions were positive. “It really annoys me when people think of what I have been doing simply as humanitarian.  I went because Jesus died on the cross to give us eternal life, and that means hope – hope and healing of body, mind and spirit.  My amazing God saved me and chose me to help provide through Mercy Ships hope and healing to the hurt and suffering.”
            Sarah worked as an ICU nurse at Sydney’s Liverpool Hospital for more than five years, and before setting out for Africa spent three months at the Westmead Children’s Hospital to learn more about pediatrics.   That work experience prepared her for her role as a ward nurse caring for both children and adults.   She served onboard during the latest field assignment to Ghana, then sailing with the Anastasis to Liberia to be with the medical crew at the commencement of an assignment to that nation.
            She describes Liberia as a ‘mess’ three years after the end of more than 20 years of civil war.  “It’s a country with 85% unemployment.  Three-quarters of the people live below the poverty line on less than $1.50 a day.  There are no services – electricity, mains water or sewerage.  No one can afford health care services.  A whole generation has missed out on education.  Former child soldiers have no skills.  Gangs are beginning to form.  The country has a Godly leader who is doing her best but has a huge task ahead of her.”
            “God is calling us to help the poor – the poor in body, mind and spirit.  He is not interested in the way we perform religious piety and acts that on the surface have an appearance of godliness.  He is interested in our hearts and the way we are prepared to spend ourselves on behalf of the poor.  May I never become hard to injustice on this earth.  I pray that my heart would break for the people of Liberia.  I don’t know the answer to all the problems but I do know that I am called to love those I come in contact with and reflect Christ to them,” Sarah concludes.
Mercy Ships is an international Christian charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978.   Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide.
Mercy Ships offers a range of health and community development services free of charge.  Highly skilled surgeons on board the ships perform thousands of operations each year to correct disability, disfigurement and blindness.   Medical and dental teams travel the countries and establish clinics to provide vaccination programs, dental treatment and basic health care for those with no access to these facilities.  Local community health workers receive training in hygiene, nutrition and disease prevention.
Mercy Ships builds hospitals, clinics, training facilities and basic housing where none exist.   Agricultural projects help replenish livestock in war-torn areas and boost food production.   Working in partnership with local people, Mercy Ships empowers communities to help themselves.    The result is a way out of poverty.

6 June 2007

            “I hope that during my short time in Sierra Leone I have helped in some small way to make a difference in the lives of some people.”      
            Melissa Rogers, a physiotherapist from Adelaide, is back from voluntary service with the international Christian charity Mercy Ships, working at a permanent land-based centre established by the charity in the West African nation among the world’s poorest people.  The New Steps Centre helps people with physical disabilities, most arising from polio and war injuries.  Mercy Ships also operates a Fistula Hospital providing free surgeries to correct obstetric fistula problems in women.
            “Before I flew to Sierra Leone, I tried not to build up too many expectations of what life would be like there,” Mel says, “as I don’t think anyone can really understand a place, culture or situation without actually being there.   But I was quite unprepared for what I encountered.  This country is rated by the United Nations as the second poorest in the world.   There is a vast gap between the rich and the poor.   Little infrastructure exists and most of the people have no access to address the basics of health care and sanitation.   Education is inaccessible to many, resulting in a very high level of illiteracy.
            “Resulting from injuries and atrocities committed during the long years of war, and a lack of access to immunization to prevent disabling diseases such as polio for many years, it’s estimated that as many as ten per cent of Sierra Leoneans are now living with a disability.”
            “My time with both the New Steps Centre and the Fistula Hospital were very challenging.  I was involved in a program for those suffering from Cerebral Palsy.   Traditionally, children born with a disability have been considered ‘devil children’ and were left in the jungle to die.  Families or women who tried to raise these children were often shunned by those around them.  Many children did not survive or were left behind closed doors, receiving no therapy at all, resulting in further deformity.”
Mel completed her physiotherapy training at the University of South Australia in 2003.  She worked in a rural setting in the Riverland; at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide; and for Novita Children’s Services, a community based organisation providing services for children with physical and multiple disabilities.  She says the range of experiences, skills and training prepared her well for the time in Sierra Leone.
“As a Christian, I believe God genuinely cares about each and every human being.  I also believe we are called to show much God cares for the rich and the poor, the old and the young.  I had long wanted to be able to do more about that belief, and during my time in Africa I was privileged to do that,” she says.
“It was costly, as all volunteer serving with Mercy Ships are required to fund their trip to and from the country where they work, as well as paying living expenses while there.  Financial support was provided by many people, and I appreciate that assistance.  There seemed to be many who would like to do something like this themselves, but felt they could not due to financial, family of work situations.   They were particularly keen to help out and support me.  
“It has been a valuable time of learning, particularly about the complex problems facing the developing world.  The time away has also taught me to value more the opportunities of living in Australia, simply because I was born into a relatively rich and educated society,” Mel concludes.
Mercy Ships is an international Christian charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978.   Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide.
Mercy Ships offers a range of health and community development services free of charge.  Highly skilled surgeons on board the ships perform thousands of operations each year to correct disability, disfigurement and blindness.   Medical and dental teams travel the countries and establish clinics to provide vaccination programs, dental treatment and basic health care for those with no access to these facilities.  Local community health workers receive training in hygiene, nutrition and disease prevention.
Mercy Ships builds hospitals, clinics, training facilities and basic housing where none exist.   Agricultural projects help replenish livestock in war-torn areas and boost food production.   Working in partnership with local people, Mercy Ships empowers communities to help themselves.    The result is a way out of poverty.

27 May 2007

Mercy Ships newest vessel, the Africa Mercy, has docked in Monrovia, West Africa, following the vessel’s maiden voyage from the U.K.  The ship effectively doubles the international Christian charity’s capacity to provide free health care and community development services.
            Chief Executive of the Sunshine Coast based Australian support office, Gary Regazzoli, described the event as something like the arrival of a new baby after a long time waiting.   And he says, “She’s beautiful, weighing 16,500 tons, and measuring 152 metres in length.”
            “Like proud parents, we are weaving dreams for her future, we want her to be healthy, we want her to be successful, and we want her to be a blessing to others.”
            The Africa Mercy is the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship, with six operating theatres, 78 hospital beds, state-of-the-art equipment, and a crew of 450 volunteers from around the world, including Australia.

24 May 2007

Understanding the world’s cultural tapestry

“It is so easy to sit at home, caught up in the busy schedule of work, home and church, and miss the real understanding of all that is going on in the world around us,” says Fiona Lanting of Melbourne.
“Even though we may say we have empathy for people living in the world’s poorest nations, watching images on television does not instill the same understanding as being there.”
            Fiona, a theatre nurse, has just completed nearly three months of voluntary service onboard a hospital ship operated by the international Christian charity Mercy Ships in Ghana, West Africa.   It was her second such trip, having served for three months with Mercy Ships in Sierra Leone during 2004.
            “It was much easier the second time,” she says, “as previously I hardly been outside of Australia, and certainly not in Africa.    It was also very different traveling this time to Ghana, compared to arrival in Sierra Leone three years ago where I was shocked at living conditions in the capital Freetown and hearing of the horrific experiences people had suffered during that country’s long civil war.  It was a real contrast to arrive in a peaceful country, which though poor, has signs of economic development.”
            “Being poor is only one part of the lives of many Africans.   Corruption flows through to the daily hardships faced by most people.  Basic services we take for granted are not available.   Despite the fact that the people may be physically poor, they are abundantly rich in spirit.   They have so many reasons to feel sad or turn away from God, but instead they dance and sing with such a freedom of heart.   Give them a drum and a reason to praise God, and it’s like a bunch of kids who have been let out of school.
            “It puts me to shame when I think of the times I have thought the singing at church was too long.   These people will dance and sing for an hour at church, all the while sweating in the heat.   God is good, and African people won’t let you forget it.”
            Fiona says working as a short-term volunteer onboard is very busy, with long working days and quick meal breaks, as surgeons carry out a range of remarkable operations to correct disability, deformity and blindness.   “Despite the pressures faced, there is a huge satisfaction of being involved in something I could never accomplish in Australia.”
            She felt God’s prompting in offering herself for service, and He provided the opportunity for extended leave from work in Melbourne to go.  “It has been such a privilege to work within the Christian community of more than 400 onboard.   The whole experience is one of giving God the glory for what is done through the combined efforts of all of the crew.   I know I have grown spiritually.   While I enjoy the break from expectations of my work, family and church life at home, God has used this time to teach, encourage and strengthen my relationship with Him.  How could I be more blessed?”
            “For every person we operated on, there are still countless numbers of others out there waiting.  Many will never have the chance to receive treatment.   It is sometimes hard to think of that, but then I remember all that has been done and is being done by volunteers serving with Mercy Ships.   I remember a woman with a huge facial tumour going home with her deformity corrected.  She can now live in her village without fear of being regarded as an outcast.  She can earn a living because people are no longer afraid to buy her bead work from her.  She gives glory to a God who loves her just as much as He did before her surgery.
            “For this woman and for others, Mercy Ships has been a vessel of hope and healing.   It has been an honour and privilege that God has chosen me through Mercy Ships to bring hope and healing to such people.   For the future, I hope to sharpen the pencil of my spiritual life and gain a better understanding of our world, and the tapestry of culture and values that God brings together,” Fiona concludes.
Mercy Ships is an international Christian charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978.   Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide.
Mercy Ships offers a range of health and community development services free of charge.  Highly skilled surgeons on board the ships perform thousands of operations each year to correct disability, disfigurement and blindness.   Medical and dental teams travel the countries and establish clinics to provide vaccination programs, dental treatment and basic health care for those with no access to these facilities.  Local community health workers receive training in hygiene, nutrition and disease prevention.
Mercy Ships builds hospitals, clinics, training facilities and basic housing where none exist.   Agricultural projects help replenish livestock in war-torn areas and boost food production.   Working in partnership with local people, Mercy Ships empowers communities to help themselves.    The result is a way out of poverty.

4 May 2007

A Small Part of God’s Work

What I am doing as Chaplain to crew members is no more or nor less important than the work of those using knives to peel potatoes or those using scalpels to perform life-saving surgeries.”
            That is how Peter-John Hopkins sums up his two-year term as a volunteer Chaplain onboard one of the hospital ships operated by the international Christian charity Mercy Ships.
            PJ, as most people call him, is responsible for the spiritual welfare of 400 volunteers onboard the Anastasis, currently on assignment to the West African nation of Liberia, one of the world’s poorest nations.   When that ship is retired soon, he will take up a similar position as one of the crew chaplains on the world’s largest private hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, which will sail for Liberia within the new few weeks to continue the charity’s assignment in that country until the end of the year.   The Africa Mercy will have 450 volunteer crew from around the world, involved in medical and community development projects aimed at bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor.
            “The work of Mercy Ships is so important through both its medical and non-medical outreaches following the example of Jesus,” says PJ, “but we must remember that what we are doing is only a small part of God’s work in which all Christians share.   My current concerns relate to the pressures being placed on volunteers, many of them long-term, who face tremendous pressures.   Many of them are medical people, doctors and nurses, who are under real pressure as they try to do everything possible to bring healing to the people of West Africa in their real need.   Often that desire to work comes at the expense of the health and spiritual needs of our volunteers.”
            PJ knows about God’s leading him in the decision to offer himself for service with Mercy Ships as a volunteer.   That leading began more than 14 years ago as he emerged from what he describes as self-induced alcoholism that took everything and everyone from him.   He heard of Mercy Ships from guest speakers at a Salvation Army community event at Toronto in the Newcastle district.   “I had a long standing desire to serve overseas in some form of missionary capacity, and that chance came after an expected opportunity to serve with the Salvation Army in Taiwan fell through.”
            In an occupational sense, his 12 years experience as a counselor and lay chaplain with the Salvation Army, also helped in his decision making.   With qualifications in Arts and Law, a Counselling Degree and Theology Degree, PJ headed for Mercy Ships International Operations Centre in Texas for five months of training, including one month on assignment in Honduras.  For a broader experience, he worked with the Agriculture Department in Texas and served for three months as Dining Room Manager onboard the Anastasis in Africa.  He is now one of three Chaplains onboard, and expects to continue until late 2008.
            “Almost from the day I arrived in Texas I have felt that I am doing what God wants me to do.   I am sure God is at work in my decisions,” he concludes.
Mercy Ships is a global Christian charity that has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978.   Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide.   Highly skilled surgeons onboard the ships perform thousands of operations each year to correct disability, disfigurement and blindness.   Medical and dental teams travel the countries and establish clinics to provide vaccination programs, dental treatment and basic health care for those with no access to these facilities.  Local community health workers receive training in hygiene, nutrition and disease prevention.

23 April 2007

“When I received word that I had been accepted to go as a volunteer with Mercy Ships to Ghana and Liberia, I had never even heard of Ghana,” says Brisbane nurse Jacki Huestis who has just returned from four months onboard the charity’s hospital ship in the West African nations.
            “I had heard of Liberia and that country’s desperate needs, and I felt privileged to have had the opportunity of working in both countries.   My time as a volunteer Registered Nurse in the ships’s hospital ward started in Ghana last November, and when the field service to that country finished the ship sailed to Liberia where more than 400 volunteers will continue to serve until the end of 2007.”
            Jacki, who lives at Sunnybank Hills, says she had been searching for a long time for a volunteer position that matched her nursing skills.   “I read in the Queensland Nurses Union magazine about a nurse who spent three months as a member of the eye team in Africa, and felt that the international Christian charity would be perfect.   My eleven years of nursing included work in the acute hospital setting and in the community.  At the time of my acceptance with Mercy Ships I was working as a domiciliary nurse in the community, but I moved jobs to a hospital surgical ward to re